Ecclesiastes 6:3

6:3 Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years –

even if he lives a long, long time, ¹  but cannot enjoy his prosperity –

even if he were to live forever ²  –

I would say, “A stillborn child ³  is better off than he is!” ⁴ 

Job 7:7

7:7 Remember ⁵  that my life is but a breath,

that ⁶  my eyes will never again ⁷  see happiness.

Psalms 4:6-7

4:6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”

Smile upon us, Lord! ⁸ 

4:7 You make me happier ⁹ 

than those who have abundant grain and wine. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 34:12

34:12 Do you want to really live? ¹¹ 

Would you love to live a long, happy life? ¹² 

Isaiah 65:20

65:20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days ¹³ 

or an old man die before his time. ¹⁴ 

Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred, ¹⁵ 

anyone who fails to reach ¹⁶  the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.

Jeremiah 17:6

17:6 They will be like a shrub ¹⁷  in the desert.

They will not experience good things even when they happen.

It will be as though they were growing in the desert,

in a salt land where no one can live.

[6:3]  ¹ tn Heb “the days of his years are many.”

[6:3]  ² tn Heb “he has no burial.” The phrase וְגַם־קְבוּרָה לֹא־הָיְתָה (vÿgam-qÿvurah lo’-haytah, “he even has no burial”) is traditionally treated as part of a description of the man’s sorry final state, that is, he is deprived of even a proper burial (KJV, NEB, RSV, NRSV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NJPS, MLB, Moffatt). However, the preceding parallel lines suggest that this a hyperbolic protasis: “If he were to live one hundred years…even if he were never buried [i.e., were to live forever]….” A similar idea occurs elsewhere (e.g., Pss 49:9; 89:48). See D. R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 990.

[6:3]  ³ tn The noun נֶפֶל (nefel) denotes “miscarriage” and by metonymy of effect, “stillborn child” (e.g., Ps 58:9; Job 3:16; Eccl 6:3); cf. HALOT 711. The noun is related to the verb נָפַל (nafal, “to fall,” but occasionally “to be born”; see Isa 26:18); cf. HALOT 710 s.v. נפל 5.

[6:3]  ⁴ sn The point of 6:3-6 is that the futility of unenjoyed wealth is worse than the tragedy of being stillborn.

[7:7]  ⁵ sn Job is probably turning here to God, as is clear from v. 11 on. The NIV supplies the word “God” for clarification. It was God who breathed breath into man’s nostrils (Gen 2:7), and so God is called to remember that man is but a breath.

[7:7]  ⁶ tn The word “that” is supplied in the translation.

[7:7]  ⁷ tn The verb with the infinitive serves as a verbal hendiadys: “return to see” means “see again.”

[4:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[4:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “you place joy in my heart.” Another option is to understand the perfect verbal form as indicating certitude, “you will make me happier.”

[4:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

[34:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.

[34:12]  ¹² tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”

[65:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “and there will not be from there again a nursing infant of days,” i.e., one that lives just a few days.

[65:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “or an old [man] who does not fill out his days.”

[65:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for the child as a son of one hundred years will die.” The point seems to be that those who die at the age of a hundred will be considered children, for the average life span will be much longer than that. The category “child” will be redefined in light of the expanded life spans that will characterize this new era.

[65:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the one who misses.” חָטָא (khata’) is used here in its basic sense of “miss the mark.” See HALOT 305 s.v. חטא. Another option is to translate, “and the sinner who reaches the age of a hundred will be cursed.”

[17:6]  ¹⁷ tn This word occurs only here and in Jer 48:6. It has been identified as a kind of juniper, which is a short shrub with minute leaves that look like scales. For a picture and more discussion see Fauna and Flora of the Bible, 131.